GUTSY: Expedia's Gay Marriage Ad Is Narrated By A Homophobic Father

Expedia is publishing a series of videos under the rubric "find yours" which focus on why Americans make the journeys they do.

Sounds dull, right? In fact most of the videos in the series have received fewer than 10,000 views on YouTube.

The latest video, however, got more than 2.2 million views since Oct. 2. It's an unexpectedly moving tale told by retired business owner Artie Goldstein, who describes the less-than-enthusiastic reaction he had to his daughter Vickie's announcement that she was going to marry another woman. "That startled me. I told her, this is not the dream I had for my daughter," he says.

He books a plane ticket anyway, and the ad follows him on the trip. At one point he drives past a church, and the shot is delivered in silence.

(Of course, the ad has a happy ending when he sees his daughter in her wedding dress.)

The spot — made by agency 180LA for Expedia clients senior marketing director Vic Walia and vp/gm Joe Megibow — is unexpectedly subtle, for a major brand.

Gay-audience targeted campaigns are commonplace in advertising these days, and they already have their own set cliches (smiling whitebread couples in spotlessly tasteful homes, rough-housing with their adorable kids, etc.).

What makes this ad worthy of note is the fact that it's told entirely from the point of view of a member of a generation that, frankly, isn't entirely on board with the whole equal rights thing.

The ad thus addresses its supporters and critics at the same time — which is what makes it so clever. Take a look: